50 more survivors found amid Bangladesh building rubble

By Tom Watkins and Farid Ahmed, CNN

Updated 9:24 PM ET, Fri April 26, 2013

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Members of the Bangladesh army pray at the site of the collapsed Rana Plaza in Savar near Dhaka on Tuesday, May 14. The army-led effort to search for bodies has ended nearly three weeks after the nine-story building collapsed. The final death toll stands at 1,127.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives of missing garment workers offer prayers in front of the rubble on May 14 in Savar.

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Photos: Building collapses in Bangladesh – A white board at the recovery command center near the disaster is used to track the death toll on Monday, May 13.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Heavy equipment sifts through the rubble of the garment factory building collapse on Sunday, May 12.

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Photos: Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman cries holds a portrait of a missing relative believed to be trapped in the rubble of the Rana Plaza building on Saturday, May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi garment worker Reshma Begum, a seamstress who survived 16 days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building, rests in Savar Cantonment Hospital on the outskirts of Dhaka on May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives search through a long line of covered decomposing bodies to try to identify their family members on May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers retrieve Reshma from the rubble in Savar, Bangladesh, on Friday, May 10. She got rescue workers' attention by waving an iron rod. She was found in a pool of water, which allowed her to stay alive.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured worker who survived the building collapse is carried by her husband to collect her wages in Savar near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, May 8.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Garment workers who survived the building collapse line up to collect their salaries in Savar on May 8.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Workers continue rescue and recovery operations on Tuesday, May 7, nearly two weeks after the Rana Plaza building's collapse outside Dhaka.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers recover a body from the rubble on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives place a body in the back of a truck on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman attempts to identify one of the bodies kept in a schoolyard on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Members of the Bangladeshi army and firefighters carry the body of a garment worker from the scene of the building collapse in Savar, outside Dhaka, on Sunday, May 5.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman holds a portrait of her missing relative as she sleeps on Saturday, May 4.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives attempt to identify the bodies of loved ones on May 4.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers dig out debris from the Rana Plaza building as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation using heavy equipment on Friday, May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman reacts on May 3 after identifying a body found in the rubble.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A man stands amid the destruction as rescue and army personnel continue recovery operations on May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman holds up a picture of a missing person believed to be trapped in the rubble on May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A garment worker rescued from the wreckage of the Rana Plaza building lies in a hospital in Dhaka on Thursday, May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman weeps after identifying her daughter's body in the rubble in Savar on May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers move debris as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation at the site of the collapsed building in Savar on May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman mourns before a mass burial in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Unidentified bodies from the rubble lie on the ground as people gather for a mass burial in Dhaka on May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Workers dig graves during a mass burial of unidentified garment workers on May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, wears police-issued body armor and a helmet while being escorted to court in Dhaka on Tuesday, April 30. Rana was arrested near the Indian border, and protesters called for him to be hanged.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi troops carry the body of a garment worker out of the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar on April 30.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Clothing with Joe Fresh labels lies in the debris on April 30.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Cranes operated by Bangladeshi army personnel work on Monday, April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Firefighters try to control a blaze that started while they were trying to rescue a woman with heavy equipment on April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi army personnel begin the second phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment on April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers look for survivors on Sunday, April 28. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society says the chances of finding anyone alive in the rubble at this date are remote.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman mourns on April 28 at the site of the building collapse in Savar.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search for survivors on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers sleep before they begin more rescue operations on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers carry a victim's body recovered from the rubble on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Clothes lie in the rubble on Saturday, April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An arrested owner of a garment factory is escorted to an appearance at the court in Dhaka on April 27. Four people were arrested and four others are being questioned by police.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives hold photos of missing and dead workers outside the factory April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Two Bangladeshi women look at a board with notices posted of missing and dead workers on April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi relatives and workers load a body onto a truck on April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An excavator operated by the Bangladeshi Army removes debris on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers conduct rescue operations on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers use textile as a slide to move bodies out of the rubble on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers look for trapped garment workers on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers stand on the rubble of the collapsed building on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search the rubble for victims and survivors on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A rescue worker looks for trapped workers on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi army personnel recover a survivor from rubble on April 26, 48 hours after the collapse.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A physician assists a survivor after he was recovered from the rubble on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Two bodies clutch each other in the rubble on Thursday, April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People rescue garment workers on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A Bangladeshi woman shows a picture of her missing daughter-in-law she believes is trapped in the collapsed building on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi firefighters cut a hole through concrete during rescue operations on April 25 in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers work at the scene on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman appears devastated on April 25 after identifying the body of her husband killed in the building collapse.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi garment workers help evacuate a survivor by using a roll of fabric on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People rescue garment workers on Wednesday, April 24, after the building caved in, leaving a chaotic mass of broken concrete and twisted metal.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives who lost a brother mourn outside a hospital on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured garment worker to escape from the Rana Plaza building on the outskirts of Dhaka on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Civilians help an injured garment worker on April 24. Work was proceeding slowly to avoid causing further collapse, an official said.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search for trapped garment workers in the Rana Plaza building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured Bangladeshi lies on the hospital floor on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – The injured receive treatment at a hospital on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured person rests in a hospital bed on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People wait anxiously on April 24 while rescuers search for survivors.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured person out of the seventh floor on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Civilians help out in rescue efforts at the collapsed building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Hundreds watch the rescue operations on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People search for garment workers trapped under the debris on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured worker on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A body is trapped under the damaged building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman is carried away from the building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A rescue worker carries a worker to an ambulance on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Crowds gather around the collapsed building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers bring out an injured garment worker from the building's sixth floor.

Rescuers tunneling Friday into the rubble of the eight-story building that collapsed Wednesday discovered another 50 people trapped on what remained of its third floor, an official said.

Bangladesh Fire Service Deputy Director Maj. Mizamur Rahman said rescuers were hoping to free them within a few hours. As the effort was under way, they dropped food and bottled water to those who called out.

Also Friday, a woman who gave birth under the debris was rescued, along with her infant, a fire service official said, according to the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). Earlier, the agency had reported two women had given birth; it did not explain the change.

The news of survival and new life came as the 72-hour deadline to change the operation from rescue to recovery approached, even as hundreds more people were feared still trapped amid the rubble.

Officials coordinating the operation have said the rescue efforts would end Saturday morning, when heavy equipment will be used to retrieve the remaining bodies and cart away the rubble.

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"You can see heavy cranes and bulldozers here to quickly remove the concrete debris, but we can't use them at the moment as our prime objective is to retrieve the people alive first," the military spokesman said Friday.

The planned use of heavy equipment ignited protests from the people who crowded near the rescue site, many of them relatives who were showing pictures of the missing to whomever would pay attention and saying they did not believe 72 hours was long enough to wait.

Police used tear gas to disperse them, BSS reported.

Sajjad Hussein, communications officer for Transparency International Bangladesh, told CNN from the scene that hundreds of relatives of victims were thronging a local school were bodies were being kept.

"People with photos of their relatives, mostly workers of the apparel factories, are asking the officials there for help. Whenever an ambulance is arriving at the spot, everyone is rushing towards hoping to find at least the body of their near and dear ones," Hussein said.

At a nearby medical college hospital, "thousands of survivors have been treated," said Hussein, whose non-governmental agency reports on allegations of corporate and political corruption in international development.

"The crisis for blood is acute and the hospital authority is urging people to donate blood for the victims. There is also a shortage of medicine. The local military hospital is also treating patients."

At the rescue site, the death toll from the collapse rose Friday to 307 as thousands of Bangladeshis filled the streets of the capital city of Dhaka in anger and rescuers raced to find more survivors.

"Our prime target is to rescue the rest of the survivors alive, as we are running against time," a military spokesman told reporters more than two days after the incident, BSS said. It did not identify the spokesman.

It was not clear how many of the products made in the factories in the suburban Dhaka town of Savar were destined for the U.S. market, but U.S. companies are major customers for Bangladeshi-made clothing.

In all, 2,375 people have been rescued, said Inter Service Public Relations Director Shaheenul Islam.

Seventy-two of them were recovered from the wreckage Friday, BSS reported, citing police.

Using hand drills and rod cutters, rescuers pierced the rubble of what had been the rear of the building and extracted 40 survivors, 20 of whom were then hospitalized in critical condition, BSS said.

The mound of concrete and steel, flecked with bolts of brightly colored cloth, had been an eight-story building housing five garment companies employing some 2,500 workers; a bank; a shopping mall; and offices.

"With no modern equipments to use, they are drilling holes and looking for survivors," Hussein of Transparency International told CNN. "Victims are shouting from inside the debris, there is the stench of dead bodies, blood -- things can't be worse."

He added that survivors who cannot be immediately freed from the rubble because of lack of equipment "are sent water, food and, in some cases, oxygen cylinders."

Collapse came a day after cracks appeared

The collapse in suburban Dhaka occurred Wednesday morning, a day after cracks appeared in the structure. It has stirred outrage in Bangladesh over lax safety standards in the country's key industry.

Most of the victims appear to have been garment factory workers, who had been told to report to work despite their concerns that the building's structure was not sound. The cracks led the bank to order its employees not to report for work Wednesday, and the shops in the mall were closed because of a strike.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association announced Friday that all garment factories would be shut over the weekend "for treatment of victims of the Savar building collapse and completion of the rescue operation successfully."

The association said it would pay the salaries and dues of workers of the stricken building by the first week of May.

Authorities have said they did not know what caused the collapse or how many people remained inside the debris. But a police official said relatives had reported 595 people still missing.

Demands for punishment

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday ordered police to arrest the owners of the building and the factories so that they can "face legal actions," her spokesman said.

"It is not an accident, it is a killing incident," Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu told reporters. "All, including owners and administrative officials concerned, must be put on the dock for the killing of people."

The nation's high court ordered Thursday that the owners, who are believed to be in hiding, appear in court Tuesday, CNN affiliate Boishakhi Television reported.

During protests Thursday, demonstrators carried black flags. Some set fires, and others used clubs to break the windshields of passing trucks.

Hundreds of workers lay siege to the head office of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka.

They demanded the arrest of the factory owners and called for the death penalty for Sohel Rana, the owner of the building.

The vice president of the garment association, Shahidullah Azim, said the organization had suspended the factories' memberships.

The demonstrations in Dhaka continued Friday.

Questions for Western companies

The catastrophe is the latest to strike Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs more than 4 million people -- most of them women -- and regularly comes under scrutiny for its slipshod safety standards.

It also raises questions for the Western brands that contract with factories here to make their products. According to BSS, the United States receives 23% of the products -- more than any other individual nation.

Some of the blame must be shouldered by Western brands, said Matab Choudhury, director general of the British Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, in an interview with CNN's Max Foster.

"They go to Bangladesh, they ask for the buying agent and they say, 'OK, we want 2 million of this garment. How cheap can you go?' " he said.

He accused some agents from Western companies of seeking out factories that are not in compliance with safety laws.

The U.S. State Department said Thursday it wasn't able to provide details about whether American companies were connected to operations in the collapsed building.

But the disaster underscores "the urgent need for the government, owners, buyers, and labor to find ways of improving working conditions in Bangladesh," said Patrick Ventrell, a State Department spokesman.

Bangladesh Housing and Public Works Secretary Khandaker Showkat Hossain told BSS that the government was planning to form a separate authority to monitor compliance with the country's building code, which critics say is often flouted.

"We are seeking technical support from Japan's government in this regard, as the Japanese are very sound in taking earthquake preparedness," he said.

The last major building collapse in Bangladesh occurred in 2005, in the same area as Wednesday's, and killed more than 70 people, the national news agency said.

A fire at the Tazreen Fashions Factory in another suburb of Dhaka in November killed at least 112 people. Tazreen had made goods for Walmart and Sears, though both companies said they were unaware that the factory had made goods for them.